After beginnings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bird ringing (“bird banding” in the Americas and Australia) has become a major tool in the study of the lives of birds worldwide, enabling investigators to discover if birds remain in one place or, if not, where they travel, what routes they take and when … More Ringing in new discoveries
In my blog post of 23 June 2018, I described the occurrence of small plastic fragments in the Sooty Tern colony, which I had first noticed in the 1990s but which have been seen regularly and abundantly in the colony ever since. The origin of the irregularly-shaped pieces of remains a mystery but this year … More Plastic in the Sooty Tern colony
Our trial of the attachment method for fitting satellite tracking devices to juvenile Sooty Terns later this year (see post of 20 June) reached its first milestone when we left Bird Island on 30 June. Both of the birds fitted with dummy tags had alternated between incubating the single egg and going out on foraging … More SeyCCAT sponsored Sooty Tern tracking project makes early progress
Since 2011, part of our work on Sooty Terns in Seychelles has been directed at finding where our Sooty Terns go when they are at sea. This has been made possible by the miniaturisation of electronic tracking devices, which are now sufficiently small to attach to Sooty Terns. The first study involved the use of … More SeyCCAT funds a programme for satellite tracking of juvenile Sooty Terns from Bird Island
When first discovered Bird Island probably had few land birds and R W Coppinger, who visited in 1882, stated categorically that there were none. By 1907 John Fryer, as part of the Percy Sladen Trust expedition to the Indian Ocean, found that Madagascar Fodies and Barred Ground Doves had arrived on Bird Island, and Desmond … More Bird Island’s land birds – natural or out of place?
When Bird Island was first discovered by Europeans in the 1770s, it was described as being covered by “innumerable” birds and later visitors reaffirmed this, also mentioning scant vegetation. The discoverers did not name the birds they found but Sooty Terns were likely to have been the most numerous species. Other species, mainly ground nesting … More Bird Island is not just for Sooty Terns!
The Sooty Tern breeding season is progressing well. Laying began exceptionally early this year, with the first eggs being recorded around 10 May. This proved to be a false alarm, however, as the birds departed, only to return later when laying recommenced around 25 May – still early by normal standards but closer to the … More Bird Island’s Sooty Terns 2019
Between May and September Bird Island, Seychelles, hosts the world’s largest Sooty Tern colony that is readily accessible to tourists (there are a few larger breeding colonies of Sooty Terns in the Indian and Pacific Oceans but they are on islands that are not open to tourists). The approximate half a million pairs that breed … More New visitor facilities on Bird Island
On 27 May we boarded a Twin Otter at Seychelles International Airport’s domestic terminal for the scheduled flight to Bird Island. There was little wind – the south-east trade winds have not yet really set in – and the blue sky had a few light clouds drifting slowly across. In his pre-amble the captain said … More A stormy welcome to Bird Island
Towards the end of this year’s stay on Bird Island I was able to photograph a Sooty Tern in the colony with unusual (compared with the vast majority of birds in the colony) plumage. Instead of having a clear-cut line between the white forehead and black cap on the head, this bird had a gradation … More A young Sooty Tern makes an early return?
